My name is Joe and I’m a Peer Support Specialist for RECONNECTED Foundation.

I moved to the Vail Valley in 1991 from Allentown, PA at the age of 18 and filled my time with copious amounts of skiing and outdoor activities. I worked in many different industries such as construction, hospitality, food and beverage, transportation, ski rental, business brokering and outdoor recreation. 

In 1997, I suffered an extremely traumatic life changing event leaving me to deal with PTSD and for many years I dealt with that in incredibly unhealthy ways. Working through those issues alone, I managed to find moments of happiness and was able to marry and raise a family. I continued to succeed in my career but never truly healed from things that happened in my childhood and from my PTSD.  Like many men, I felt stuck in an endless grind of working to survive and provide. I lost sight of what is important and truly felt like I was destined to just exist.

Years of extreme sports and hard labor left my body in ruins from various injuries and life altering surgeries. Most recently, smoke inhalation from the Glenwood Canyon fire left me unable to speak clearly for several years and led to the discovery of a rare blood disorder that I continue to deal with. Chronic pain and chronic illness fueled bouts of depression, anxiety and addiction. Doctor-prescribed medications created a toxic dynamic in my brain I was unable to handle and it affected me in ways that are truly difficult to explain. It left me wanting to isolate and just check out from the world. I am here to tell you, there is a way out.

I am looking to help individuals of all ages cope with the mental fatigue we all tend to experience from life and relationships in an environment that is non-clinical and comes from a place of lived experience. I want to help people work through issues using connection, humor, fitness and the outdoors to heal and thrive.